A New Birthday Card

It’s time to party - bring out the champagne, cakes and a nice pot of tea!

It’s the perfect moment to have a reason to be cheery and there’s nothing like a birthday to put a smile on people’s faces. Whether it’s a ‘big one’ or anything in between, we all enjoy a reason to get together with loved ones and celebrate a happy moment.

There are so many ways available to tell people you are thinking of them. These days most of these ways are online, which although makes things super quick and easy can lack that personal touch when it comes to saying Happy Birthday. There’s just nothing like getting a ‘proper’ card in the post. It expresses a lovely sentiment and shows you have been in someone's thoughts.

“A birth-date is a reminder to celebrate the life as well as to update the life.” ― Amit Kalantri

Some interesting facts about birthdays and birthday cards that caught my eye…

• It’s said that putting candles on cake began in Ancient Greece. The Greeks would make round cakes to honor Artemis, the goddess of the moon. The lit candles on the cake represented the glow of the moon, and the smoke from the candles carried their prayers and wishes to the Gods who lived in the skies
• If we take account of all birthdays in a year all over the world, is there a month with the maximum number of birthdays? There is indeed and it’s August! August sees 9% of all birthdays across the globe.
• There is evidence that the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Greeks celebrated certain days as the birthday of particular gods and the book of Genesis contains the description of a pharaoh’s birthday party, but it was the Romans who began the custom of celebrating the birth of ordinary men. Wooden tablets found at Vindolanda on Hadrian’s wall, record an invitation, dictated by Claudia Severa, inviting her friend to a birthday celebration and they probably represent the earliest form of birthday card yet discovered. The mass-produced birthday card as we know it today, first made its appearance in mid-19th century Britain, shortly after the production of the first Christmas cards.

Having the perfect greetings card is one thing but it can be tricky thinking of a meaningful message. Here are some of my favourite fun quotes for making any loved one smile.

Favourite quotes for birthday greetings cards:

1. Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears. — John Lennon
2. Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake. – Edward Morykwas
3. The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything. — Oscar Wilde
4. Life really does begin at forty. Up until then, you are just doing research. — Carl Gustav Jung
5. The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. — Lucille Ball
6. Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed. — Charles Schulz

I hope you enjoy this new birthday greetings card as much as I enjoyed painting it! It’s now available to buy on the website here. There are two other cards in the birthday card series too Birthday Cake Card and Birthday Bouquet Card.

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